So, it’s been five (5) months since we moved into our new home.  For the most part, all of the moving containers have been emptied, neatly tucked away behind closet doors or buried in the back of the storage room.  Funny how all kinds of emotions and thoughts pop up when you move……especially when you look around at all of the “stuff” you’ve collected over the years. “Stuff” that you spent two thirds of your life collecting, only to find yourself spending the last one third of your life trying to give away!  I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a pack rat, but I would say I’m a “memory keeper.”  They are different, right?!?!?

Now that we have our own backyard, again, I’m finding  one of my favorite things to do is to sit on the patio and watch the wildlife entertainment.   With five (5) hanging bird feeders, two (2) hummingbird feeders, a birdbath and several ground feeders we seem to be attracting critters from all around the area.

At any given time we’ve had a multitude of  squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, cardinals, doves and a variety of finches circling around.  But, the squirrels clearly own the feeders and tend to drain them fairly quickly as you can see from these morning and afternoon shots below……..

Completely full at 8a.m.

By 7p.m. empty

I mean, seriously!  These squirrels will do anything to get to the food.  Talented beyond any trapeze artist, they will find a way to conquer the feeder!

Coming in for breakfast!

You would think this guy would make it easy on himself and go for the regular bird feeders.

I guess they must really like the suet bricks!

Those back feet must really be strong!

I’ve been wondering why my flowers haven’t been growing, lately!

Checking out the drain for food!

I’m willing to bet that we’ve spent a couple of hundred dollars on sunflower seeds, already…….thank goodness Costco sells it in bulk!